"Xue Hong!" One of Chen Qiaoqian's senior colleagues, presumably her partner in dual cultivation, raised both hands and sent a streak of dark light spiraling outward, dancing wildly around the body of the deceased, attempting to locate the ice demon that had caused the fatal blow. To be honest, Sister Xue Hong's death was truly unfortunate. If she hadn't momentarily been driven by a desire to outshine her rivals and had instead used her seal artifact, she might have fared much better. Indeed, prior to activating the seal, she had always had a delicate gauze-based defensive artifact floating beside her. But in order to shorten the time required to activate the seal and conserve her inner energy, she had carelessly withdrawn the artifact, leaving herself completely unprotected—and thus, she lost not only her life but also her very essence. It's rather unfair to blame her solely for her inexperience and carelessness. After all, when she saw her adversaries all transforming into luminous cocoons, and sensing that her surroundings were filled with fellow disciples, she had felt confident enough to fully commit to activating her seal. Who could have imagined that the ice spirit, having half-merged with the mortal form, emerged from its chrysalis and immediately vanished, precisely targeting her? At that moment, the young woman was at the very peak of activating her sacred artifact—so intent was she that she could not even halt the process in time, and thus fell victim to the attack. Indeed, when Song Meng activated her long spear artifact, he too had taken no protective measures. Only because Song Meng's artifact possessed relatively weaker power, he succeeded in activating it earlier. Otherwise, the now-invisible ice spirit might have struck any one of them at any moment. Moreover, not only Song Meng and the young woman, but even the attackers—Han Li and the others—had hardly anyone employing protective magical devices. After all, the luminous cocoon had merely served as passive targets, unable to mount a defense, and thus they had no desire to expend additional magical energy to summon defensive artifacts. Yet now, witnessing the young woman's tragic demise—her heart seemingly torn out—and hearing Han Li's urgent warning, everyone felt a cold sweat break out on their brows. Instantly, protective artifacts and shields began to manifest all around, as they prepared to guard against the unexpected and ruthless assault But what truly left them stunned was that, no matter which secret concealment spells or artifacts they employed, they could not trace the whereabouts of the demon. Occasionally, they would catch glimpses of him, only for him to suddenly vanish again—seeming to move at an astonishing speed. At this point, the ice demon had become completely semi-transparent, flickering in and out of sight around them. Even the most sensitive magical instruments could no longer maintain active tracking, and were soon completely outmaneuvered. Now, everyone felt deeply uneasy, constantly scanning their surroundings with growing apprehension, completely at the mercy of this half-demonized ice spirit. Only Han Li observed the scene with a faint expression of puzzlement. His comrade-in-arms, the Prince Wang, who had fought alongside him, had never seen such a bloody scene before—now he was pale as a sheet, clearly filled with fear. To him, it seemed utterly surreal that his cheerful, talkative senior sister had perished so suddenly—something that felt like a dream come true. It was completely different from his own expectations of his side triumphing effortlessly, displaying great prowess and swiftly defeating the enemy. Reflecting on this, he glanced at his senior brother-in-union, now appearing wildly frantic, and his own expression grew even more strained. Perhaps the more one fears something, the more it tends to manifest. Either his inner anxiety had been noticed by the ice demon, or perhaps the demon simply found him weaker and easier to handle. As he stood hesitating and uncertain, a transparent, cold, sharp claw suddenly materialized from behind him and lunged fiercely toward his heart. His guardian artifact—a small bronze shield—proved remarkably responsive, shifting on its own without any prompting from the master, and swiftly moved to intercept the attack, perfectly deflecting the blow. A light clink rang out—though the icy claws were repelled, the bronze shield instantly froze over with a thick layer of frost and fell straight to the ground, temporarily losing its spiritual vitality. Only then did Wang Shifu notice the sudden development behind him, his face instantly pale, and he instinctively turned around, frantically scanning left and right. After confirming that there were no further disturbances, he hesitated briefly before suddenly bending down to retrieve the small bronze shield, needing to quickly thaw it so he could re-activate it. "Move fast!" Liu Jing, nearby, shouted in alarm upon seeing his actions. "What?" He was startled, still not understanding what was happening, when the water-based protective aura behind him shattered with a crisp sound, and then a piercing cold wind swept directly against his back. "Trouble!" Master Wang almost simultaneously realized what had happened—the invisible ice spirit did not retreat after the first strike, but instead turned and launched a fatal attack from behind. At that very instant, Master Wang's mind went completely blank, and the only image that surfaced was of his senior sister, "Snow Rainbow," lying motionless in a pool of blood, having perished. "I never thought it would come to this so quickly!" That was the only thought that came to him. Yet at that moment, his vision blurred, and then he felt his body grow light—suddenly, he soared through the air as if riding on clouds. Below him, a continuous roar of wind and thunder, along with sharp cries of shock and outrage, echoed. Then, his feet touched solid ground, and he stood steady and upright. "Master Wang, are you all right?" A voice of deep concern reached him just as he stood there, utterly bewildered, unsure whether he had died or not. Hearing that familiar voice, this guest slowly turned his head, only to find Liu Jing looking at him with genuine concern. Upon seeing his face, Wang Shifu realized he had indeed survived unscathed, and was overjoyed, expressing his gratitude with a voice that was nearly choked: "Liu Shifu, was it you who saved me?" The moment he spoke these words, even Wang Shifu himself was startled—his voice was so strained, clearly indicating how deeply he had been shaken. Liu Jing, upon hearing this, looked slightly embarrassed and said with some hesitation: "I'm truly ashamed. It wasn't my doing that you survived. It was actually Han Shizi who rescued you just now, and he's still fighting that demon right now! To be honest, I used to hear stories from you about Han Shizi, and I didn't believe he could have defeated over a dozen foundation-stage cultivators at such a young age. Now, I've truly been amazed. Han Shizi's capabilities are indeed beyond measure!" "Han Shizi?" Wang Shifu paused, slightly taken aback. He clearly remembered that Han Li had been five or six zhang away from him at the time—how could he possibly have had time to move? As he thought this, Brother Wang hurried to turn and look toward the spot where the fighting had begun. What he saw stunned him utterly. Where he had been attacked, the area was now completely empty, yet the sounds of vigorous combat and a man's low, thunderous roars filled the air. Moreover, several sharp streaks of light and sword energy shot out unexpectedly, carving countless deep and shallow furrows across the nearby ground. Brother Wang could only recover his composure after a moment. As he was about to open his mouth in astonishment and ask a question, a sudden gale of wind burst forth from the empty space, and then a pale, semi-transparent humanoid figure appeared out of nowhere, moving in a strange, inverted, and violently rushing manner—startling Brother Wang. This figure was precisely the blood servant who had attacked him, now appearing even more ethereal. His entire body seemed to be as clear and transparent as crystal. "It's impossible! How can you see through my invisibility and keep up with my speed!" On the crystal-clear face of the demon, astonishment and even a hint of fear were clearly visible. Yet, as soon as he spoke these words, he let out a primal roar, lunged forward with great force, and vanished once more. Immediately, a cold sneer from Han Li echoed through the air, and the clash of combat resumed—not only more intense, but now spreading outwards in all directions. This sudden surge of movement, which made the observers—those who had only heard the sounds and never seen the figures—frightened into constant retreat, caused even the female cultivator's partner, who had been eager to avenge her beloved, to reluctantly step back, fearing that she might be caught unawares by the battle's force and perish without explanation. They all knew now that they would be unable to intervene in this invisible struggle. "Look at the ground!" Song Meng cried out suddenly. Others looked down in surprise, and found themselves equally startled. They saw that a thick layer of crystalline ice had formed on the ground ahead, shimmering under the moonlight and gleaming with an unmatched smoothness. "Such a clever trick! This creature has transformed the ground into this state—this must be不利 to Han's younger brother!" Song Meng expressed his growing anxiety, speaking with concern. "It's not so bad. Though we don't yet know what kind of elusiveness Han's younger brother has employed—how he manages to remain undetected by us—his voice still carries strength, indicating he's far from disadvantaged. Clearly, the icy ground hasn't significantly affected him. Still, the strange transformation of these creatures is truly unexpected. It's astonishing that one of our own has perished here. I cannot absolve myself of responsibility!" Liu Jing paused thoughtfully before speaking slowly. Hearing this, the others looked at Liu Jing's serious expression and found themselves at a loss for words, unsure how to offer comfort. They didn't know that the Han junior they spoke of—Han Li—was now shouting angrily in his heart while engaged in a fierce battle with the ice demon.